Recently, electric motor cars that are powered by an electric motor, such as hybrid vehicles (HV), electric vehicles (EV), or the like, have drawn great attention as environmentally friendly vehicles. Hybrid vehicles use a direct current source, an inverter, and a motor driven by the inverter serving as a power source, in addition to a conventional engine. More specifically, the engine is driven to obtain a power source and, at the same time, direct current voltage supplied from the direct current source is converted to alternating current voltage by the inverter and the alternating current voltage which is converted is used to rotate the motor to thereby obtain a power source. Further, electric vehicles use a direct current source, an inverter, and a motor driven by the inverter serving as a power source. More specifically, these electric vehicles include an electric system for supplying electric power from a direct current power source formed of a secondary battery or the like to an alternating current motor for driving a car, via a semiconductor power converter such as an inverter.
Electronic components including a power conversion device such as an inverter are contained in a housing or the like and disposed at the front portion, the rear portion, or the like, of a vehicle. Because the power converter such as an inverter used for driving a motor or the like generates a large amount of heat, the power conversion device is generally cooled by a cooling device or the like which supplies a refrigerant such as coolant into a circulating route, which passes through the power converter, for circulation, by using a motor-driven water pump or the like.
When such an electric motor car collides with an external object, there is a possibility that the housing that contains an electronic component such as an inverter interferes with a peripheral component (an interfering object) such as trans-axle and is damaged. Further, if the housing is damaged, there is a possibility that a high-voltage portion of the electronic component such as an inverter is exposed. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, when a vehicle in which a housing 50 containing an electronic component such as an inverter having a high-voltage portion 52 is mounted collides with an external object on its side, there is a possibility that the housing 50 interferes with an interfering object 54 which is a peripheral component such as a trans-axle and is broken. Also, if the housing 50 is broken, there is a possibility that the high-voltage potion 52 of the electronic component such as an inverter is exposed.
Patent Literature 1, for example, describes a cooling housing for containing an electronic component such as an inverter circuit and including a wall portion which is partially cooled so as to prevent the wall portion of the housing, when it is broken, from contacting the electronic component such as an inverter circuit and causing short-circuit. The cooling housing includes therewithin a bag for containing the electronic component, formed of an insulating elastic member which is easily deformed with respect to an external force.
Patent Literature 2 describes, as a power control unit for an electric vehicle, in which short-circuit of a high-voltage terminal mount does not occur even when a motor chamber is deformed due to collision in the front-back direction, and a cost reduction, a size reduction design, increased assembling properties can be achieved with increased reliability, a power control unit for an electric vehicle, which is equipped with a voltage control unit that performs voltage adjustment between an inverter for driving a traveling motor and a power source within a high-voltage box. An outer wall surface of the high-voltage box is protected with a high-strength member, and the high-voltage terminal mount for connecting the inverter and the traveling motor is disposed adjacent to an inner wall surface of the high-voltage box which is protected with the high-strength member.
Patent Literature 3 describes an electric vehicle including a cell portion for generating electric power, an electric power control circuit electrically connected with the cell portion, and an electric power control unit including a disposing portion of the electric power control circuit. In the electric vehicle, in order to protect a cell which is mounted when collision of the electric vehicle occurs, the cell portion and the electric power control unit are fixed to a vehicle body in a manner such that they are arranged in the vertical direction, and the disposing portion includes a projection portion which projects from an edge of the cell portion in the horizontal direction toward the predetermined direction in which collision is expected.
Patent Literature 4 describes a fixing structure for on-vehicle devices, which includes the following, in order to prevent the on-vehicle devices mounted on a vehicle from colliding with other members at the time of collision of the vehicle. Specifically, the fixing structure includes on-vehicle devices, a disposing mount which is fixed to a vehicle body defining a storage chamber capable of storing the on-vehicle devices and on which the on-vehicle devices are mounted, a fixing mechanism which fixes the on-vehicle devices and, when a pressing force of a predetermined magnitude or more is applied to the on-vehicle devices, can release the fixed state of the on-vehicle devices, a guide member connected with the disposing mount, which extends toward the backward side of the vehicle body with respect to the on-vehicle devices such that the guide member is inclined upwards toward the backward side of the vehicle body with respect to the on-vehicle devices, and a support member which is connected with the vehicle body and supports a portion of the guide member which is located on the rear side with respect to the on-vehicle devices.
According to the technology disclosed in Patent Literatures 1 to 4, however, there is a possibility that damage to the housing which stores electronic components caused by a peripheral component (an interfering component) cannot be sufficiently absorbed or reduced at the time of collision or the like.